West Oak Capital LLC Cuts Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

West Oak Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,763 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.2% of West Oak Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 26,522 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,919,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $276,000. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 31,828 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,503,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 lifted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 5,629 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 3,560 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,435 shares of company stock worth $6,451,298. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of ABT traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $113.09. 1,253,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,677,773. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $115.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $196.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.75. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $89.67 and a 12-month high of $121.64.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. Abbott Laboratories’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ABT shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abbott Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.00.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.